


Axis Mundi

by hanged_albatross



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Echo is still trying to process Fives death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, and Fox isn't the bad guy... that's a hill I'll die on, references to Fives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:56:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29814969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanged_albatross/pseuds/hanged_albatross
Summary: " "And what's this top secret errand?" Crosshair pressed and Echo could tell that he wasn't about to let it go. There was also the slightest hint of suspicion in the snipers eyes. "We'll go away as soon as you tell us."Echo let out a long exhale and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. You win. I'm going to the Coruscant Guard headquarters.""Why?" Wrecker frowned."Because... the last time we were on Kamino, Tech may have stole some files from their servers for me," Echo explained. "About what happened to my brother." "- In which Echo struggles to find answers and the rest of the Bad Batch tries to help -
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Axis Mundi

As the _Havoc Marauder_ started it's decent into the polluted atmosphere of Coruscant, Echo recalled exactly why he disliked the planet so much. The first time he ever visited the large city, he had still been a wide eyed, shiny CT. He had never seen a planet so large and full of life, with thousands of species mixing together on bustling streets touting every type of business possible.

But with every return trip, the awestruck feelings faded and he began to see the planet for what it really was. It was dirty and suffocating and hostile, and the people pushing past would glare and mutter things about _useless_ _Clones_ under their breath. Echo could have gone the rest of his life never returning and not lost any sleep over it. 

"We've been in a holding pattern for over an hour!" Crosshair yelled, white-knuckling the ship's controls. "How long does it take to clear a landing zone?!"

"I told you we needed to bribe the flight officer," Echo said, looking up from his data-pad. He didn't actually need to be in the cockpit- Tech and Crosshair were handling this maneuver in- but he found watching Crosshair slowly loose his mind to be mildly entertaining. 

"No back seat piloting," Crosshair snapped. "And I already explained that I'm not paying some weasel-faced bureaucrat fifty credits to get a slip we already reserved." 

" _Havoc Marauder,_ enter zone 23a at altitude 7982 and wait for further instructions," a synthesized voice chimed through the open comm channel.

Tech quickly reached over and muted the comm to keep Crosshair from throwing a string of cursing at flight control- again. It then took another half hour for the ship to touch down at an overcrowded landing platform in the heart of the city. Overall, they had burned through two pots of caff. 

"I'm glad that's over," Tech said, stretching his arms behind his back to relieve the tension in his shoulders. 

"Just wait until we have to leave," Echo teased as they stepped back into the common room. "All of that, but in reverse." 

"You and Hunter have fun doing that," Crosshair said. "I'll be busy studying the inside of my eyelids."

The three Batcher's joined Wrecker, who was sitting at the table and scrolling through a very touristy brochure titled _Fifty Family Friendly Things to Do on Coruscant._

"So, how long is this meeting going to take?" Echo asked and took a seat at his usual spot on the couch.

"Who knows," Crosshair shrugged. "But I would rather be dropped in the middle of a Separatist base, blind-folded and unarmed, before going to another one of those debriefs." 

Tech had grabbed his data-pad back from Wrecker and was tapping through what appeared to be a very lengthy document.

"The meeting docket was just sent through. It looks like Tarkin is leading the budgeting forum again," he said, eliciting groans from Wrecker and Crosshair. 

"Wait- did you just say Tarkin?" Echo said, somewhat taken aback. He hadn't heard that name in quite some time. 

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"Only in passing," Echo joked, knowing it would go over everyone's head- but he still found it very amusing.

The door to Hunter's room slid open and he called out from inside. "Not a single word from any of you."

"It can't be that bad-" Tech started, but when Hunter stepped out into the common room, Crosshair started to laugh so hard he doubled over and grabbed the bulkhead for support.

"You.. you look like a Reg!" the sniper wheezed. 

Hunter was wearing a neatly pressed, Dress-Grey uniform. Since he was relatively the same size as a standard Clone, it fit him well. There were a few ribbons pinned to the rack, and he had a braided chord that looped under the left arm. The Sargent rank-stripes marked the sleeves and collar and, notably, there was no unit insignia to accompany the stripes. Echo was surprised that the uniform was kept well within regulations- save for the pistol and blade Hunter had secured to the belt. 

Hunter scowled and threw the grey cap at Crosshair. "You take that back." 

"Lookin' sharp, Sarge," Wrecker said earnestly. 

"Don't lie to me. I haven't worn this stupid thing in over two years," Hunter started to pull his hair back into a bun. "Please remind me to burn it as soon as we get back."

"We?" Tech asked warily. 

"Yes, 'we'. Which one of you wants to go with me?"

"I thought you said you could handle it on your own!" Wrecker said. 

"That was before I found out that Tarkin is going to be there," Hunter replied. "I need someone for backup- and to stop me from strangling him."

All of a sudden, everyone in the common room became interested in the scuff marks on the toes of their boots. Hunter tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for an answer, but Crosshair was unfortunate enough to be the first to catch his eye. 

"Don't look at me," Crosshair said defensively. "I went with you to the last one and that 'debrief' ended up being 5 hours." 

"Fine. You're off the hook- for now," Hunter's turned his attention to the remaining three Batchers.

"I can go," Echo said reluctantly. He had already come up with a plan for how he was going to spend the day, but figured he could find a few minutes between meetings to run the _errand_. The only trick would be doing so without Hunter tagging along. 

"Thank you Echo, but I'm afraid that attending one of Tarkin's forums would be detrimental to your health. And you still need to focus on recovering." Hunter continued to stare down Tech and Wrecker. "Do I hear a volunteer?"

They pointed at each other and Hunter let out an annoyed sigh. "Cross, one of your reflectors please." Crosshair un-clipped the small disk from his belt and threw it to Hunter. He caught it and rolled it across his fingers, "Heads or tails?" 

"But both the sides are the same!" Wrecker protested. 

"Trust me. I'll know."

"Heads," Tech quickly said. 

Hunter flipped the reflector and, without even looking at the result, said, "Tails. Tech, you're with me. Go get dressed." 

"That's not fair!" Tech cried over Wrecker's loud ' _hah'!_

"You annoy Tarkin the most and if I have to suffer, so does he." As Tech stormed off to his room, Hunter called out after him, "Don't forget your hooker straps!" 

"How often do you have to go in and do these debriefs?" Echo asked. "I thought Clone Force 99 was totally off the grid."

"Nobody can escape the clutches of bureaucracy forever," Hunter said, snatching his cap back from Crosshair who had mockingly put it on. "We're only dragged in once a year or so. We try and stay under the radar but there's only so many memos and recall orders I can ignore."

"It's just a bunch of brass questioning every move we make," Crosshair scoffed. "Not like we can even tell them about half of the things we do. It's called a 'need to know' mission for a reason." 

Hunter rubbed at his temples, feeling the headache starting to form. "The moment Tech and I get back, we're all going out. What was the name of that pub on the lower levels? The one we went to last time." 

"O'Graces," Wrecker said instantly. 

"That's the one. Tech, lets go!" 

"It's itchy!" Tech complained as he walked out of his room, feet dragging. 

The smaller Clone's Dress-Grey's did not fit him well due to his smaller stature. The fabric was slightly too long at the wrists and ankles, and too tight around the neck. Just like Hunter, Tech also had a few decorations on his rack but none of them were arranged in the proper order. And more out of place, his goggles looked awkward and over-sized without the helmet and framing of the bulky armor. Even Echo had to work to suppress a laugh. 

Crosshair grabbed his holo-pad and snapped a picture of Tech and Hunter standing next to each other. 

"You delete that!" Tech shouted. 

"But you look so cute," Crosshair smirked. "Like a little milkman." 

Before Tech could retaliate, Hunter grabbed him by the jacket collar. "We're going to be late. Well, later than usual." As he shoved his smaller batchmate towards the door, Hunter turned back to the remaining group. "Stay out of trouble, yeah?"

"You got it boss," Crosshair said, giving a mock salute. When the door shut behind them, the sniper stretched out his lanky arms and folded them behind his head. "So, a whole day on Coruscant. Whatever shall we do?"

"The zoo!" Wrecker immediately exclaimed. 

Crosshair took out his toothpick and glared at him. "You know you're not allowed to bring grenades into the zoo, right?" 

Wrecker seemed to consider this for a moment. "Fine. I'll leave them on the ship- if I can pet the Kaduu's." 

"Just don't come crying to me when they bite you," Crosshair said. "But we're meeting with my weapons guy right after. He just got a new shipment of J0-23 scopes." He glanced over at Echo. "And what do you want to do?"

"Oh, you two go ahead," Echo said, not looking Crosshair in the eye. "I think I'm just gonna stay here, catch up on some sleep." 

"Are you sure?" Wrecker prodded. "They have a Porg exhibit." 

"And my weapons dealer is stocked right now," Crosshair said. "We can get you a new rifle, totally pre-modified."

"I'm sure," Echo said with a small smile. "You guys have fun though- don't bring back any Porgs."

Crosshair and Wrecker exchanged brief glances but still went to change into more discrete going-out attire. They both had a way of incorporating smaller parts of their armor- like shin guards and bracers- with their civvies. Neither of them would totally blend in with a crowd, but now they looked more like low-level mercenaries than highly trained GAR soldiers. And, despite Crosshair's warning, Wrecker still tucked a grenade and small side-arm into his jacket. 

After asking two more times if Echo wanted to come along, they headed off in the direction of the Coruscant zoo. As soon as they were out of sight of the _Havoc,_ Echo started to watch the clock. Time seemed to move much slower but once ten minutes had passes, and he was sure that the Batcher's were well on their way downtown, Echo grabbed his helmet and pistol.

When he stepped off the _Havoc's_ ramp and onto the dirty concrete, he took deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. Echo had done his research well ahead of time and knew the exact route to get to his detestation. He walked out of the large landing zone and confidently down the street at a steady pace. The sight of armor made the crowded sidewalk part around him. And although his surroundings were loud, that didn't stop Echo from being able to overhear the insults thrown his way. But he couldn't have cared less.

About fifteen minutes in, Echo felt a weird tingling sensation on the back of his neck. It made him feel wary- as if he were being watched. He shook his head- on a pathway with thousands of people, there were bound to be a few eyes on him. Before he could further rationalize it, there were suddenly two shapes that pushed their way through the crowd and fell into stride with Echo. 

"Unless you're sleepwalking," Crosshair said, "This doesn't really look like a 'nap on the _Havoc_ ' to me."

Echo jumped ever so slightly. He wouldn't admit that Crosshair and Wrecker had managed to 'sneak up' on him, because ARC's were always on guard. The two of them just temporarily had the element of surprise. 

"What are you two doing here? I thought the zoo was that way-" as Echo hitched his thumb in the opposite direction, he had a realization. "Hang on- are you following me?" 

"Duh. We weren't born yesterday," Wrecker said, rolling his eyes. "And you're lying to us."

"So where are you really going?" Crosshair raised a thin eyebrow. "Do you have some secret mistress that you're hiding from us?"

"What? No!"

"Oh. A mister?"

"I'm not seeing-"

"I've got it!" Wrecker interrupted and raised his booming voice. "A drug deal!"

If the trio hadn't attracted attention before, they definitely had now. 

"Keep your voice down," Echo hissed. He looked around then motioned for them to follow. They stepped into a side alleyway, granting the group a bit more privacy. "Listen, I just have an errand I need to run and I didn't want to ruin your plans!"

"And what's this top secret errand?" Crosshair pressed and Echo could tell that he wasn't about to let it go. There was also the slightest hint of suspicion in the snipers eyes. "We'll go away as soon as you tell us." 

Echo let out a long exhale and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. You win. I'm going to the Coruscant Guard headquarters."

"Why?" Wrecker frowned. 

"Because... the last time we were on Kamino, Tech may have stole some files from their servers for me," Echo explained. "About what happened to my brother."

"Fives?"

"Yeah." Even hearing his brother's name brought a pang of sorrow to Echo's chest. "The file Tech pulled is incomplete, and the rest is being hidden on a top-secret skiff. We have no idea why but what we did manage to pull notes that all the physical evidence for the case is being held in storage at the Guard's headquarters."

"I don't think they're going to hand over top secret files." Crosshair said in a tone that was close to being sympathetic. 

Echo shook his head. "I'm not going for the files. I just want Five's armor back."

"Do you think it might have clues?" 

"No, I don't. I just... I just don't want it sitting in some box collecting dust." Echo felt silly, talking through his thought process. "It's not what Five's would have wanted."

Wrecker put a large hand on Echo's shoulder. "Makes sense to me. We'll come with you."

"You don't have to-"

"Nah, messing with the Guard is one of our favorite pastimes when we come around this way," Crosshair assured him. "We've got your back."

Echo was taken aback. He hadn't wanted to ask the rest of the Batch for the fear of what they would think about his inability to get over his brothers dead. But here they were, watching his back with no questions- well, very few questions- asked. "Thanks you."

They continued towards the Guard headquarters which was an annex of the Senate building proper. Plenty of Senators and Clones passed them as they entered the campus but most didn't spare a second look. Each step closer to the glass and stone building made Echo's stomach roll more and more. He didn't like the fact that he felt such an overwhelming sense of dread or why he flinched every time red-and-white armor caught the corner of his eye. 

Opening the first set of glass doors into the headquarters, Wrecker leaned over and whispered. "Oh, if there's a Clone named Burr here, I'm not legally allowed near him." 

"And Inky," Crosshair reminded him. 

"Oh yeah. And-"

"Does the entire Guard have restraining orders against you or something?" Echo balked. 

"Lets just say that they don't like us very much," Crosshair said coyly. "We have a reputation for 'starting things'."

"Great. So you're not actually going to be much help?"

"Never said _that."  
_

Entering the lobby, Echo was surprised to find the sitting area to be completely empty, given the time of day. It was a nice space, all clean lines and soft lights to comfort the citizens and Senators that had to come to this side of the building. There was a large black desk that acted as a barrier between where civilians entered and where the Guards operated. On the working side, dozens of red-and-white Clones bustled through the cooridor, carrying stacks of data-pads and escorting prisoners to interrogation rooms.

Behind the desk was a younger Clone, whose only deviation was a small X tattoo at the corner of his left eye. It reminded Echo of Tup's marking. As Echo approached, Wrecker and Crosshair kept enough space between them to seem bit less threatening, but certainly staying within earshot. The Clone glanced up from his paperwork and seemed taken aback by the odd group. 

"May I help you?" The Clone didn't hide the wariness from his voice. 

"I hope so," Echo said, keeping his own tone neutral. "I'm here to request this evidence box."

Echo grabbed a pen and slip of paper from the desk and jotted down the serial number. When he slid it over the the Clone, he picked it up with a frown and stared up at Echo. The confusion was clear on his face. 

"Are you serious?"

"Very." 

Seeming to be at a loss as to what to do, the Clone typed in the number into his data-pad. When the results returned to the screen, his body went rigid and it looked like he stopped breathing. Out of all the reactions Echo was prepared to face, he wasn't expecting one akin to fear.

"How- how did you get that number?" the Clone's voice had dropped so low that Crosshair and Wrecker were straining to hear. 

"All cases that the Guard handles are public record," Echo said- which was a half-truth. By law, all case numbers had to be accessible but knowing what happened in this city, Echo wouldn't have been surprised if there were hundreds of cases swept under the rug for political reasons. 

"Yes, but-," the officer swallowed, seeming to be aware he was about to be caught in a lie. "I can't release that box to you." 

"Actually, you can," Echo said. "Statue 392 of your own policy book says that personal effects in a case that hasn't been active in over a year can be collected by next of kin."

"But-"

Echo leaned forward and could hardly keep the emotion from his voice. "I'm his next to kin."

Finding his courage, the officer stood up and said. "I don't know who put you up to this, but you need to leave."

"I'm not leaving without that box," Echo snapped. "You have no right to keep it."

"We do, because Statue 392 only applies to citizens of the Republic," the officer shot back. "Which means that you can't file a request."

Echo had to grab the edge of the desk to keep himself from lashing out and striking the Clone. He could feel the wood splinter under the strength of his mechanical hand. "Oh, you want to go there? My brother _died_ for the Republic, the least you could do is show his armor a bit of dignity!"

The tension in the air had become palpable and his shouts had gathered quite the crowd. All passing Guards stopped in their tracks to watch the showdown. A few of them had even rested their hands on their weapons, which sent a bolt of fear through him. But Wrecker and Crosshair, sensing a fight, appear at his side and bringing with them an immense amount of comfort.

"We're getting that evidence box," Crosshair said, the sneer that usually came with talking to Regs curled up his face. "Now we can do this the easy way, or..."

"Is that a threat?" another guard, who had slowly made his way across from them, growled. 

"That's a promise," Wrecker said as he cracked his knuckles. 

Looking around, Echo counted twenty Coruscant Guard and there were probably a dozen more in the various offices.

 _I like those odds- but then what?_ _Even if we managed to take out the Guards, am I really going to get Wrecker and Crosshair implicated in a_ crime? Echo thought. _But this is the only chance I have to get the piece of Fives that is left..._

A loud voice suddenly boomed through the lobby, reverberating off the glass windows. "What is going on?" 

Everyone froze as a Clone strode out of the central office and through the cluster of Guards. He wore the red-and-white armor like he had been born in it, but his helmet was nowhere to be seem. And although all Clones were close in age, it was easy to spot which ones were from the earlier batches. It was the way they carried themselves- as if there was just a bit of extra weight on their shoulders. It also didn't help that his hair had gone completely grey on the sides with a few streaks scattered throughout the top. 

"Commander Fox," Echo said. It wasn't a greeting- more of a fact that needed to be stated. 

Fox raised an eyebrow and moved so that he was standing in front of younger, X-tattooed Clone- almost in a defensive position. He looked from Echo to Crosshair and Wrecker, trying to gauge how big of a threat they were. "And you are?" 

"ARC 1409," Echo said. "With Clone Force 99."

He could see the gears turning in Fox's head as he turned to Crosshair and Wrecker. "I thought I banned your squad from this sector of the city?"

"Can't ban us from 'official business'," Wrecker said, putting the last two words into air quotes. 

"And that is?" 

The X-tattooed Clone handed Fox the slip of paper with the case number on it. The Commander glanced down and seemed to recognize what was written on it. Echo once again saw the same reaction- fear. Fox was much better at hiding it, but it was there regardless. 

"How did you get this number?" Fox demanded. "This is classified information." 

"It doesn't matter how I got it," Echo said. "All I'm asking for is my brother's armor back."

"Your brother?"

"Yes. Fives was my last batchmate," Echo said bitterly and could feel the grief start to seep into his heart. "And don't worry, I read the after-action report. I know it was you who killed him." 

Fox recoiled at the words, as if Echo had physically struck him. "ARC 5555 had just tried to assassinate the Chancellor and was holding a Jedi hostage." There was an odd cadence to his words. "He didn't leave me much of a choice." 

"There's always a choice," Echo's hands clenched into fists at his side. "But I can't change the past, I can't bring my brother back. All I'm asking for is his armor." 

"And I'm saying that it's part of a classified murder investigation. Don't forget, another one of your 501st killed a Jedi."

"It wasn't Tup's fault!"

Fox took a step forward, then another. His cold eyes were locked onto Echo's and he didn't stop until they were chest to chest. "Your friend raised the blaster and pulled the trigger. That was his _choice."_

"He was sick, just like Fives," Echo snarled. He had no idea why Fox was being so cold, so cruel towards a fellow brother. Something was very wrong... 

"I understand that its hard, hearing that your own batchmate was a traitor-"

Before he could totally understand what was happening, Echo saw red and threw a punch that caught Fox square in the jaw. The Commander, surprisingly, held his ground and the rest of the Guard surged forward to his aid. Wrecker grinned from ear-to-ear and braced himself for the wave of red-and-white. Crosshair, on the other hand, looked a lot less eager for the brawl but still stepped into a defensive position. 

But Fox held up one hand, halting the Guards in their tracks. He rubbed his jaw and glared at Echo. "That make you feel any better?"

"No, but this will," Echo tried to get in another right hook but Fox was ready this time. The Commander caught his forearm mid-swing and slammed an open palm into Echo's shoulder, sending the ARC stumbling backwards. Crosshair managed to catch Echo by the arm and steadied him. 

"Stand down, or else I will have you arrested," Fox said. "And not the type where your Sargent can bail you out at the end of the night."

"And if I don't?" Echo gritted out. "Are you going to shoot me down where I stand? Then cover it up- and for what? What's so important that it justifies covering up the death of a brother?"

"This is your last chance, ARC Trooper," Fox yelled, and every Guard behind him bristled in anticipation. 

"Echo, we should go," Crosshair said, not letting go of his grip on Echo's arm.

The sniper was right- this wasn't a fight they could win. Echo wasn't sure what he was expecting. He had known that the chances getting Five's armor was slim. But then seeing Fox, the man who had killed his brother, and hearing him speaking about Fives with such disrespect, it broke a part of Echo that he didn't know was still capable of shattering. Echo just nodded then hung his head in defeat. 

"Bitters, Shiloh, see them out," Fox said, catching Echo's eye one last time before turning on his heel and walking back to his office. 

Two of the Guards, who both had large rifles strapped across the front of their chest plates, walked towards them. The Guard on the left put their arm out, as if to physically remove them. 

"Put one finger on us and I'll snap your wrist," Crosshair snarled. 

The Guard got the message and kept their distance, but that didn't stop them from following until the three Batcher's were three blocks away from the Senate building. When their escort were out of sight, Echo dropped onto a nearby bench. He buried his head in his hands and took a deep breath, pushing down the disappointment and grief. 

"I'm sorry Echo," Wrecker said. "I should've beaten them up."

Crosshair muttered under his breath. "Good for nothing Regs."

"Thank you both," Echo said with a sad smile. "At least we tried, yeah? Come on, let's go back to the ship."

* * *

"You owe me. Big time," Tech grumbled as him and Hunter walked up the _Havoc's_ ramp.

The debrief had lasted six hours and Hunter hated every second of it. There were too many Regs trying to placate the higher-ups and too many civilians pretending they knew what it took to fight a war. The two Batcher's managed to find standing room in the back of the room and had stayed tucked out of view for most of the meeting. Hunter was able to zone out for half of it and at one point Tech had fallen asleep on his feet. They thought that they would escape without incident until it reached Tarkin's part of the debrief. 

_"Most of the quarter-three cuts are due to our now strained relationship with the previously neutral Techno-Union," Tarkin had said. His posh accent was like nails on a chalkboard to Hunter. "From my understanding, it all began after a commando raid gone wrong where we wrongfully broke several treaties."_

_"Maybe we shouldn't be negotiating with war criminals," Hunter replied with a shrug, the casualness of his voice causing Tarkin's eye to twitch. "I don't know about you, but I'm not so forgiving to those who kidnap and torture our brothers."_

To paint an even larger target on their backs, Tech spent the rest of the forum pointing out several mathematical errors in the budget plan. He was surprised that Tarkin didn't court martial them right then and there. 

Hunter entered the door code to the _Havoc_ and put a hand on Tech's shoulder. "Thank you, little _vode_. I am forever in your debt." 

Tech rolled his eyes. "Just remember that the next time you send me into a droid infested building with only Wrecker as backup." 

When they stepped into the _Havoc,_ Hunter was surprised to find Wrecker and Crosshair sitting in the common room, doing absolutely nothing. He had assumed that they would be tearing up the city and eventually wind up either on the lower levels or lockup. Whichever came first. 

"You're back early," Hunter said in lieu of a greeting. He then sat on the floor and began tugging off his dress shoes- he could already feel the blisters forming. "How was the zoo?"

"Didn't go," Wrecker grumbled. 

"Okay? We'll stay an extra night and go in the morning. Do we still want to go to O'Graces or..." he trailed off when he saw the sour expressions they wore. "What happened?"

"Its Echo," Crosshair said.

"Is he feeling alright?"' 

"Well-" Crosshair glanced over at the shut door to Echo's room then lowered his voice. "His fun filled day plans for Coruscant involved going to the Guard's office and trying to get his brothers armor back." 

"What!" Tech exclaimed as he struggled to unclasp the snug button at the dress jacket's collar, "Why didn't he tell us?"

"The idiot was trying to be diplomatic and go through official channels," Crosshair scoffed. "And didn't want to 'inconvenience' us." 

Hunter sighed. Echo had been with them for a few months now and took part in over two missions. He had integrated so seamlessly with the rest of the Batch that Hunter was now finding it odd that there was a time the ARC hadn't been around. Echo had gradually opened up about what had happened with the Techno-Union, and then other missions-gone-wrong that were always part of a Clone's life. But he always kept Fives close to his chest. 

The Batch had read the report before they had met Echo. It had been an all-bulletins memo that was pushed out to the entire GAR. A Clone had gone rouge and killed a Jedi, with a second trying to assassinate the Chancellor shortly after. The Kaminoens said it was a biological agent, but they were rolling out a vaccine against it within the week. Nothing to be alarmed about, business as usual. 

_"So that's what it takes for a Reg to snap,"_ Crosshair had scoffed but the whole affair had long since left their minds.

Until Echo had come along. 

During a run of the mill mission, they had run into another ARC that had been in Echo's training class. The two exchanged a quick hug and pleasantries, and as the ARC was leaving he had remarked, _Sure do miss the Domino twins. War's not the same without you two._ Echo had gone silent for a week after that. From there, they started to piece parts of the story together. 

"Let me guess," Hunter said. "It didn't go well?"

"Worse than you can imagine," Wrecker replied. "We didn't get the armor and the Reg that shot his brother told him to shove it."

"And you want to know the Reg is?" Crosshair asked. "None other than the Commander Fox." 

"Are you serious?" 

"I can confirm," Tech said. "It was in the eyes-only file we pulled from Kamino. Echo asked me not to tell anyone- especially once he found out we were coming to Coruscant."

Hunter glared at him. "Well you should've told me. We don't keep secrets on this ship."

"I would have if I suspected that Echo was going to try and start a fight with the Coruscant Guard."

"To be fair," Crosshair chimed it. "We're the ones who tried to 'start' things." When Hunter shifted his glare, the sniper put his hands up defensively. "Come on- it's basically a tradition at this point."

"So what are we gonna do about it Sarge?" Wrecker asked. "The Guard can't just push us around like that!" 

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Hunter said, a plan already coming together in his mind. "We're going to get that armor back." All of the Batcher's grinned. "Wrecker, do we still have that spare Phase-Two kit hanging around?"

"Sure, it's in storage."

"And blue paint?"

"A whole bucket." 

Hunter nodded. "Tech, do you have a file on Fives?"

"Only the unclassified one with his service record. And I do have a picture of his and Echo's ARC class, armor specs and paint job included." 

"Great. Crosshair, I need you to-"

"Already on it, Sarge," Crosshair said, typing on his data-pad and pulling up a projection of the the Coruscant Guard's office. He started to look for the buildings blind spots and unguarded access points. "I guess we'll have to cancel our dinner reservations."

"O'Graces will have to wait," Hunter said, stripping off his dress jacket and walking over to the locker containing his armor. "Lets get to work." 

**Author's Note:**

> Echo angst hours :/ If they don't have at least a full episode dedicated to him processing Five's death, I will be very upset. 
> 
> * Note: 'hooker straps' is the slang term for shirt-stays 
> 
> (PS I caved and made a Star Wars twitter- that's where I'll most likely be talking about Bad Batch episodes as they come out. So if you want to yell at me over there its @BIHUNTER_ )


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